June 12, 2008
For Immediate Release

RCCC Launches 'Gateway' Web Page
Highlights Credit Programs for High School Students

             SALISBURY, N.C. — Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Offers three, separate programs through which high school students can earn tuition-free college credits. A new web page launched by the college provides information on each program and gives phone numbers and e-mail addresses students can use to get more details.

              The new web page, found at www.rowancabarrus.edu/gateway2college/, supplies information about RCCC's Gateway Programs for high school students. Each of the programs, Rowan County Early College, Dual Enrollment and the Huskins Program, gives high school students the opportunity to get a jump start on their college studies or a technical career by earning tuition-free college credits.

              "Our new Gateway Programs web page is designed to give high school students and their parents a user-friendly and interactive source of information about these exciting and highly affordable opportunities," said Kimberly Boling, RCCC director of academic advising. "While the web page is clearly geared toward students, it's easy for anyone to navigate and learn about the benefits of each program."

              Through RCCC's Dual Enrollment Program, high school students age 16 and older can take any college-level course offered tuition free, provided they have completed the necessary high school pre-requisites.

              Through the Huskins Program, high school juniors who are at least 16 years old can take tuition-free courses that will count as credit toward associate degree programs offered by RCCC. In many cases, Huskins students can earn half of the credits needed for a two-year associate degree while in high school.

              The Rowan County Early College, starting up in August, gives Rowan County students the ability to earn a high school diploma and the first-two years of college credit simultaneously. Students enter Early College as ninth graders. When they graduate as seniors, they will have earned a high school diploma and two years of tuition-free, transferable college credits.

              "RCCC's Gateway Programs make sense for many students and their families," Boling explained. "Students who want to get a head start on college and families concerned about the rising costs of four-year colleges and universities should take a look at our Gateway Programs."

           Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is a comprehensive, community-based institution of higher learning, serving the citizens of Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. RCCC offers approximately 40 programs of study in business, health and human services and engineering technologies at multiple campus locations. RCCC annually provides more than 2,000 course offerings, serving an enrollment of approximately 20,000 adult students. RCCC programs include an associate degree in arts and sciences, an associate degree in applied science, and diploma and certificate programs focusing on workforce training, continuing education and basic skills education.

           In addition, RCCC provides the education and job-training programs needed to meet many of the workforce demands of the North Carolina Research Campus, under construction in Kannapolis, N.C.

           For complete details, see the RCCC website at www.rowancabarrus.edu.